Dikta Is Proud to Be Greek, So Should You

The passage to adulthood is not complete without going through the grueling job search. According to my mom, writing hundreds of cover letters, sending out your resume every day to a new company, and waiting anxiously for a congratulatory email "builds character." I wish there was an easier, fun way to build character.

As we find things to add to our resume, some of us ask ourselves if it's worth putting "Alpha Xi Delta" on there. It's hard to completely ignore one of the biggest parts of our college lives. However, some people view the Greek community as superficial, unprofessional airheads, which means they won't take us seriously if we put it on our resumes. So what do we do?

Here's what I think: it is true (and unfortunate) that there are members of the Greek community that follow the negative stereotypes. However, if you take advantage of the opportunities fraternities and sororities offer, you will strengthen your skills in leadership, communication and event planning. It is definitely worth mentioning it on your resume–if you don't want to create a big section for it, you can briefly mention it under an "Interests and Activities" section. And if an employer continues to judge you based on your Greek status, you don't want to work for him/her.  

Here's a video to enhance my point. It's cheesy, but 100% accurate and inspiring:

Also keep in mind, there is a very good chance that your future employer was part of a Greek organization. Famous leaders such as Warren Buffet, Condoleeza Rice, Bill Clinton and former Bears coach, Mike Ditka (my favorite, because he looks like my dad) were members of Greek organizations. The Huffington Post wrote an article about more famous people who went Greek–if you're interested, check it out.

Fun fact: inspiring members of Alpha Xi Delta include fashion mogul, Betsy Johnson; Verna Kay Gibson (CEO of The Limited, and the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company); and Co-founder of The Muppets, Jane Henson (who was also Jim Henson's wife).

There is no reason to be ashamed of your involvement in the Greek community. Let's show everyone that the stereotype is stupid and that Greeks are awesome. I mean, if Mike Ditka did it, it must be the cool thing to do.

(That's not Ditka–it's my dad)

(But the similarity is striking, isn't it?)